This invention relates generally to a wheelchair container and more particularly, to a container for a wheelchair that protects it from damage during air travel.
Under the Disability Act, airlines are required to transport wheelchairs free of charge for the general public. In fact, roughly 6.4 million people per year travel with their wheelchairs. As a result, a large and expensive burden is placed on the airline industry. By failing to adequately store a wheelchair in a cargo section of a jet, it is extremely common for the wheelchair to be damaged upon reaching its destination. In fact, the lack of a suitable container forces the airlines to spend at least $1.00 in repairs for every wheelchair carried. As wheelchairs become more expensive (wheelchairs range in price between $600.00 and $20,000.00) and more prevalent, the repair and administrative cost will become a more significant expense of the airlines bottom line.
However, any container will not solve the above problem. Numerous factors must be taken into account in order to design one suitable for air travel including weight, uniformity, durability, ease to load and cost. In a typical example, a passenger reaches the airport less than one hour before take-off. In that one hour period, the wheelchair must be processed, packaged and loaded onto the plane. The baggage handlers for the airlines neither have the time, nor the training to disassemble the chair, rather they have just enough time to securely load it in the plane.
As a result, certain traveling cases in the market place will not meet the demands of the airline industry. For example, a traveling case for a bicycle exists. However, the bicycle needs to be disassembled in order to be securely fastened in the container. That is, the handle bars, at least one wheel and the pedals are all removed. Thereafter, each piece is individually secured and mounted with foam, a process which can take in excess of one hour. Because the process is so labor intensive, the passenger loads and stores the bicycle prior to arrival at the airport. However, in the case of a disabled person, he uses the wheelchair to arrive at the airport. Therefore, he can not load it until he has checked-in.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a container for a wheelchair that is light weight, durable and easy to load to enable the wheelchair to be shipped without damage.